Disclaimers: All characters belong to rightful owners.
Story concieved by Lee.


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Feeling the girl's eyes on him, Lukas glanced over at Lucia, returning her gaze steadily and impassively. What he saw there did nothing to ease his reservations, but in fact, only strengthened them. As her gaze slid away from his own, turning onto Kisoku, the Cajun's lips curled up into a faint, humorless smile. At least now he knew he hadn't been wrong about her; he'd seen a definite gleam of pure calculation in those dark eyes, so the little bitch was definitely up to something, even if he had yet to figure out what that something was.

Trailing slightly behind the others, his eyes narrowed as Miss Perky latched onto Sam's arm - and Sam, of course, was eating it all up with a spoon in each hand. There were times Lukas wished that his best friend was a bit less... friendly. But then, if he were so, he wouldn't be Sam any more, and wasn't his friend's big-goofy-puppy personality one of the things he... liked... so much about him?

Barely suppressing a growl of frustration, he shook his head to Sam's question. Forcing his usual light, slightly mocking tone, he answered, "Not me, Sammy... left in kind of a hurry this mornin' an' forgot my damn watch - how 'bout you, Kiso?"

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"You know me... pretty boy on a leash." The blonde boy grinned, pulling out his cellphone. He opened it with a graceful flick of his thumb and checked the time. "It's ten to five. Ah, where do the hours go?"

With Sam occupied, Kisoku latched onto the nearest empty arm, which happened to be Lukas. He leaned his head onto the redhead's shoulder, before starting cheery banter. "I guess, it's just being in such good company. I mean, you guys are so much fun, the hours just flyyyyyyy by!"

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"Damn," Darran sighed, shaking his head in defeat. There were just too many people in and around the park-- he hadn't seen anyone remotely resembling Wolfgang's mother or brothers. And to top it all off, he'd missed the play, too... "But I won't get mad till I'm totally sure I've lost the cute girl," he muttered, a wry smile creeping in despite his aggravation.

But at least in some respects things were still going his way, for as he approached the stage again, he saw Parajo sitting on a bench, busily feeding Cordero funnel cake. "Hey, Para!" he called, grinning with relief, and walked over. "Wolfgang still with his friend, huh? I tried to find his mom, but no luck." He chuckled as he eyed the mess Cordy was happily making out of powdered sugar, and added, "Hope you've got some napkins handy, kiddo... think your sister'll be willing to clean you up after she's gone to all the trouble of getting your snack?"

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Indeed, once the play had finished, Parajo had wandered off so as to buy her brother a 'healthy' meal and, as she tried to get the boy to do more than play with the abundance of white powder, she silently lamented that she let Darran get away; from appearances, _that_ could have been an incredibly fun time and, moreoever, he seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Still, these thoughts were banished as two things happened, more or less simultaneously: one was that Cordy obviously thought his sister would look good with a nice white handprint in the middle of her face and the other was that she head a familiar voice calling to her.

"Actually, I think he and Wolfgang're still back by the stage. I offered to get them something to eat, but..." She trailed off in a shrug. Still, this soon turned to more of a giggle as Cordy, upon spotting 'Kitty', immediately gave up on his erstwhile meal and, instead, stretched his arms out and up in the international gesture for 'pick me up already, you know you want to!'. Smiling at the trust her brother was already showing for their new friend, she turned this same to Darran as she winked lightly.

"It looks like you've made a new friend, here, Darrie. Maybe you can have more luck than sister in getting him to eat instead of just seeing how much powdered sugar he can get on himself and his surroundings..." She giggled as she tried to support Cordy as he decided to stand on her knee and, of course, he was still maintaining the 'pay attention to the cute kid!' arm stretching. Laughing further at this, she pointed to the white handprint on her face as she winked to Darran. "Or, if not, you could just submit and become one of the Chosen Ones. Join now and you'll get a free funnel cake!"

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Naturally, Lem enjoyed the show with an almost childlike enthusiasm and, when it came to an end, he likely clapped as loudly as any of the youngsters in their area. Still, once that euphoria had gone, he again turned quiet and taciturn as he returned his attention to the small group.

"Y-yea..." He nodded in response to Sasurai's question, then giggled a bit oddly as the dog seemed to renew its interest in getting to know Mousy better. "It... it was really great! It's been a while since I've seen anything like it..."

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"Ah, thank you..." Nevan murmured as he followed Shittsui to the corner. Still, once they were more-or-less alone, he found himself faltering as to how to get this information out. It... really wasn't something he could accuse the man of being-- not that he doubted Sophia's words, mind you-- nor was the invitation one he could refute without good cause. Sighing faintly, he ran a hand through his curls as he turned a gentle smile to the man.

"I am really very sorry to have to do this, Mister Barano, but I don't think I should go with you..." His smile turned a bit sheepish as he said this and, inclining his head, he shook this same. "I still hope that you have a great Holiday, though..."

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Dante sighed a bit as he watched the conversation between the two and, rather relieved that the stupid old man managed to finally see the truth, he moved to return to his seat beside Tesu. Still, he paused at the little girl's question as to whether anyone was going to the tree lighting and, grinning a bit, he shrugged.

"I could probably walk over, even if I don't stay. I have to pick up my brother, anyway, so I can sit him tonight." He sighed a bit at the thought as he shook his head. Oh, not that he didn't love Cordy; it was just that there were so many better influences for the youngest of the Delvidrio children and, even if she was a ditz, Para doubtlessly was one of them... unless she managed to pick up another braindead clubbing friend in the time she was at the Park... Shaking himself from these thoughts, he turned to Tesu, as well as the cactus boy and friend, as he quirked a brow. "Are you coming?"

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"Ten to five?" Sam repeated this quietly, then laughed and shook his head. What time did he promise Gleda he'd be at the Park? Probably closer to three, maybe three-thirty which meant that he was already rather late. Well, if it hadn't been for the argument then finding out that he was some sort of reincarnated angel of death or something, he'd.... probably just have gotten wrapped up in something else. Yup. Reliability wasn't really his middle name nor was Punctuality. Good thing Gleda was always a very forgiving soul. Remembering that he had a new friend in his midst, he turned a curious glance to Lucia. "Hey, Lucia, do you want to come to the Park with us? I promised that I'd help my stepmom hand out cookies and hot chocolate. We can get free samples, too, and Gleda--that's my stepmom- -makes the best damn cookies in all of Eden; just ask anyone!"

"Hm?" Still, perhaps catching something in Lukas' tone, he tipped his head and, after disentangling himself from Lucia, he slowed so as to fall in step with the Cajun. Lowering his voice a bit, he leaned in so as to murmur to the other. "Y'okay, Lukie? You seem a bit... frustrated or something..."

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"A free funnel cake?" Darran echoed with a grin. He briefly considered Cordy's request, then decided what the hell, Para didn't seem to mind. "Well," he continued, reaching over to scoop up Cordy and settle him on his shoulder, "with an deal like that, who could refuse?

"And if he does get sugar on everything," he added, laughing, "I've gotten worse. That's no reason to pass it up." He snagged a small piece and tried to offer it temptingly up to Cordy. "Right, kiddo? C'mon... I know you want the sugar rush..."

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"Hmm. A brave man, risking getting sugar on everything..." Para giggled as she got to her feet. Still, tipping her head on side, she studied the interaction between the two for a moment as Cordy actually willingly took the bit of food offered him and she couldn't help but smile. Unfortunately, though, this soon took on a bit of a more mischevious bent as she darted foreward in an attempt to mark Dar with a white handprint similar to the one she was modelling. "There! Such bravery should be well displayed for all to see..."

"Besides..." She murmured as she closed one eye in a teasing wink. "That looks really good on you..."

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Tesu blinked a bit at being included in the invitation. He should probably be getting back to the Guild... Ausar was going to be annoyed enough that he'd sneaked out for the day, and if he missed so much as a minute of work this evening, no doubt the Egyptian would be positively... unreasonable. Even with that thought in mind, however, he felt little inclination to return - the small flicker of rebellion that had guided his actions all day apparently not having run its course yet.

"Um... yeah... I hadn't really planned... but.. I guess I could... if you want..." Tesu mumbled incoherently, his gaze travelling from Muneca to Sophia before coming to rest again upon the hazel depths of the older boy's eyes.

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Frustrated? That was putting it mildly. Still... Lukas felt he couldn't really say as much to his friend-- not with Miss Thang standing right there, anyway. And from the way things looked right now, they'd be saddled with her for the remainder of the evening, as Lucia didn't seem the slightest bit disposed to go elsewhere. Maybe he'd be able to tell Sam of his reservations regarding their fourth companion later, on the way home-- although there was no guarantee that his friend would listen to him... he already seemed rather fond of the girl...

"Nah..." he replied, reaching out to give Sam's shoulder a friendly pat, "I'm okay, Sammy... Just... been kind of a... strange day, ya know?"

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And they were off again in their own little world. Kisoku frowned for the quickest of seconds before returning to his usual grin. He knew better than to bitch again. It only got him into trouble. He detatched himself from Lukas and shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk alongside his pals. It was Lukas and Sam time, and for once, he was going to respect that.

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Lucia knew an opportune moment when she saw one. In the blink of an eye, she was next to the young blonde and grabbing onto his arm. She smiled up at him. "Hey... even though Sam said it before, I still have to ask. Are you _the_ Kisoku Capulet?"

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"Umm..." He laughed, bringing his free hand behind his head in embarrassment. Being around his best friends, the people who really knew him, and then suddenly being blindsided by a question like that was a little bit jolting to say the least, but at the very least, he could be polite about it. He just hoped she wasn't a crazy fan. "Yep. That's me. Businessman, model, philanthropist, musician, and all around good guy once you get to know me!"

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"I'll bet!" The short girl giggled just a bit before turning her gaze away from the other, giving off an air of shyness. "I know it's probably annoying... me asking that and all. It's just bizarre meeting a real life celebrity! Oh geez... I'm making an ass of myself."

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"Oh no, you're doing just fine!" Kisoku fumbled the words out. He had gone and made the girl feel like an idiot. His mind scrambled to think of something to make it better. "Umm... you didn't scream or pass out. That puts you way ahead of most of the teenage girls who happen to run into me."

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He supressed a sigh of relief as the girl giggled at his joke. Lucia moved even closer to the young Mr. Capulet. Phase 1 of her newly formed plan was about to begin. "You're a pretty funny guy, Kisoku. Nice too. Sam is _lucky_ to have a friend like you... kind, funny, smart, and-- if I'm not being too forward-- quite the looker. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their life."

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"Thanks, Lucia." Kisoku smiled as best as he could at the compliment, but inside he felt a twinge of sadness. He absolutely refused to turn his head towards his friends.

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Inside, Lucia was laughing. Humans were so damn predictable. Outside, she was the oblivious picture of cheerfulness. "So... someone needs to tell me all about these delicious cookies and who I have to sell my soul to to get some."

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